Mass. wants crackdown on mislabeled seafood

The Boston Globe reported last year that DNA analysis of fish sold at more than 130 restaurants, stores and seafood markets in eastern Massachusetts found that in almost half the cases it was not the species on the label or the menu.

Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach told a legislative committee Wednesday that the state was launching a pilot project in cooperation Legal Seafoods to use bar coding to track fish products from the port all the way to the dinner table.

He also promised to issue reminders to seafood wholesalers and retailers that they could face stiff federal penalties for mislabeling.

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The Globe report said fish often labeled as more expensive and nutritious varieties were actually cheaper and less desirable species.